3D Scroll Saw Patterns Techniques

97 Pages·1998·35.81 MB·English

by  Henry Berns

3D SCROLL SAW

PATTERNS & TECHNIQUES
Three-Dimensional
Scroll Saw Patterns
and Techniques

by Henry Donald Berns

X BOOKS 5 ,
Fox Chapel Publishing Co., Inc

This One

08ZE-UWJ-Z2YR
A Scroll Saw Menagerie

Dozens of designs for people and animals.
© 1998 by Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc.

Publisher: Alan Giagnocavo

Project Editor: Ayleen Stellhorn

Desktop Specialist: Robert Altland, Aldand Design
Cover Photography: Robert Polette

ISBN 1-56523-090-6

Three-Dimensional Scroll Saw Patterns and Techniques by Henry Berns is a brand new
work first published in 1998 by Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc. All rights reserved. No part
of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior writ-
ten permission of the publisher. The patterns included in this book are copyrighted by the
author. Artists may use these patterns to create their own projects, but the patterns themselves
may not be duplicated for resale or distributed in any form.

To order your copy of this book,
please send check or money order
for $12.95 plus $2.50 shipping to:

Fox Chapel Book Orders
1970 Broad Street
East Petersburg, PA 17520

Try your favortte book supplier first!

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank my wife, Marilyn, for her constant encouragement and assistance in the
development of my miniature patterns and in writing this book. I also want to acknowledge the
support given by my children Dan and Beth. In particular | want to thank Beth for the
professional assistance given by Buffington Design & Ilustration in getting the pattern drawings
converted to computer files. My appreciation also goes back to my childhood days when my
parents allowed me to work with wood and develop such an interesting hobby. It has been a
pleasure that the Lord has given me a talent that I can enjoy and share with others. It is my wish
that others find this activity as satisfying as I have. Finally I would like to thank Alan Giagnocavo
at Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc. for making it possible to publish this book and share my
hobby with others.
Table of Contents

Chapter One

Power Tool Operation. ......0. 6.6 ce cece eee eee eee 1

Chapter Two

3-D Pattern Techniques ............. 62.6 e eee eee eee eee 11

Chapter Three

Finishing Operations .... 0.2... 66. e cece seen 1D

Chapter Four

Simple Animal Patterns. ..........00000 000 c cece eee eee ee 27
Rabbit and Duck . -
Puffin and Cat... .. ‘ .
Squirrel/Skunk and Camel SEARS GHAR Ee EGR SIE RAG kx new 38
Goat and Donkey .- 6 sccieseewee eens wawewes saa 39
Sheep and Cardinal See eee ....40
Giraffe and Sea Horse . 2. ee mnie ase 4M
Rooster and Horse... eee 42

Chapter Five

Detailed Animal Patterns ......... siete eine ies oie woe eine eee wee 2 EE
Eagle and Flamingo... 22.0. eee 22. dD
Ostrich and Stork... eee ... 50
Sea Gull and Elephant » ss ess 6.6 imeecweiwan ime ere)
Deer and Moose... 2: esecseaesaeweecuwawams . .. 52
Honey Bee and Dog 2... ccc ease eyes eee omens 53
Polar Bear and Road Runner... 2.00.2 eee 4

Chapter Six

People Type Projects.

Coyote and Siesta Sam... eee 63
Hillbilly and Mandarin Man . . . bees 64
Bishop and The Farmer and His Wi ife See eee 12. OS

Shepherd and Wise Mand ........
Wise Man 2 and Wise Man 3 .
Joseph and Mary

Mermaid and Penguin .......... 60sec ee eee eee en
Teddy Bear... 2000 ee

Chapter Seven

Patterns Using Special Techniques .. 2... 0.0.66 ee eee 71
Flamingo and Turkey
Pegasus and Unicorn... 2.0... eT tee 77
Angel and Jesus... 0.0.0.0 ccc eee eee nates F .. 78
Pitch Fork, Staff and Cactus... 0.000000 cc ee eee wee YD

Chapter Eight

Gift Ideas and Grouped Item Projects. ..........0202000 eee ee 80
Chess Set... See eee eee 85
Barn... ee

Stable...
Ark
Introduction

The historical use of scroll saws has been to create thin two dimensional craft projects.
Wall plaques, silhouettes, and puzzles are typical examples. The creation of miniature craft
items has recently become a very popular hobby activity. This has remained, however,
mostly a two dimensional activity. Some of the small items have been sawed from thicker
stock and painted to look three dimensional.

This book gives hobbyists that enjoy making miniatures, a whole new dimension to
their work. Almost all of the pattern books that are currently available are for two dimen-
sional flat patterns. Silhouette wall plaques and puzzles are good examples of these 2-D
projects. This book adds the third dimension to the art of creating miniature craft items.
They are truly three dimensional and are detailed miniatures as well. There are a variety of
different birds, animals and people type craft items that can be made in different sizes.
They can be displayed as individual curio items or combined in group projects such as a
Nativity scene, Noah's Ark, or a Barn scene.

Patterns are included for both small and large size versions of the craft items. The
patterns can also be photocopied to other sizes to make very small, intermediate or even
larger items. The small size patterns are best to begin with. Both sizes of the patterns can
be used with the better quality scroll saws that can handle material that is two inches
thick. The large size patterns can also be used with band saws that have the new one six-
teen inch wide blades. The larger size items are an excellent first step for learning how to
do miniature hand carved items. Small powered rotary sanding tools or hand carving can
be used to finish many details. No additional finishing or only rounding of some of the
square corners is all that is needed to finish many of the 3-D items.

The chapters are organized by their level of detail and required skill. The first set of
simple animal patterns can be made with a minimum of skill after becoming familiar with
the operation of a scroll saw. The second set of detailed animal patterns are easy to do
after practicing with the simple items. The third set of patterns are for "people type" fig-
ures (this includes animals standing up on their back legs) and are more challenging. They
require some special finishing techniques for the "arms" or front legs. The fourth set of
patterns also require some special finishing techniques but produce additional detail to
the finished craft items. These special projects will be very rewarding after the hobbyist
has become familiar with the special sawing and finishing techniques.

The last Chapter has suggestions of how the craft items can be used to make grouped
projects. Some are quite easy to do as they are simply arrangements of the craft items.
Other special projects may require the construction of other craft items such as a Noah's
ark shelf, a barn for a farm scene, or a stable for a Nativity scene, etc. The addition of wire
hooks and earring wires allows the craft items to be used as dangle-type earrings or
Christmas tree decorations. The craft items can be brightly painted or left as carvings with
wood grain detail showing. They can be displayed individually or as caricature groups.
Chapter One

Power Tool
Operation

The projects in this book assume that the reader is already familiar with
the safe operation of a scroll saw and a band saw and does not need a
long discussion of the use of these tools. Basic information about these
tools can be found in their operation manuals and in the books listed in
Appendix A. Always read and follow the instructions in the operator's
manual for any power tools you may use to insure that you are using
them in a safe manner. This chapter will discuss the basic sawing tech-
niques and how they relate to the making of three-dimensional craft
items.

SCROLL SAW OPERATION

There are two basic types of scroll saws available to the hobbyist:
the C-Frame and the Parallel Arm. The C-Frame type of saw has the two
ends of the blade tensioned between the two ends of a deep "C-shaped"
open frame. With this type of machine, the stroke of the saw is pro-
duced by pivoting the complete frame at a point below the table and
near the back of the frame. A disadvantage of this type of saw is that
the blade does not remain vertical. It tips back at the top end on the
up stroke and to the front on the down stroke. This action may produce
a faster more aggressive cutting motion because the blade moves into
the stock on the down stroke. While this may be useful for thin stock
on two-dimensional projects, it could be a problem on thicker three-
dimensional projects where very sharp turns are made. With sharp
turns in thick stock it is best if the blade remains vertical during the
whole cutting stroke to produce the best results.
A typical Parallel Arm machine is shown in
Figure 1.1. The parallel upper and lower arms
hold the blade at their front ends. Both arms have
a pivot point about two-thirds of the way to the
back. The upper arm pivot is directly above the
lower arm pivot. The blade tension is held by a rod
that is tightened between the two arms at their
back end. The stroke of the saw is produced by
moving the lower arm up and down at a point near
the front. The arms, blade and tension rod form a
parallelogram that always keeps the blade vertical.
This can be an advantage for cutting thick materi-
al when very small turns are made. It does require
some type of pivoting blade holder for both ends

Figure 1.1 of the blade where they join the upper and lower
This well-built quality parallel arms.

arm scroll saw was used for With the very small blades used in the three-dimensional minia-
both sizes of craft items in tures, it is important to allow the blade holders to pivot so the blade
this book. A smaller or less ends are not bent as the parallelogram is flexed during the cutting
capable scroll s action. Adequate tension in the blade will then keep it from bending
limited to the smaller sized and will avoid a fatigue failure after a minimum of use. Proper use of a
patterns. saw will require blade changing after the blade becomes dull from an

extended cutting time rather than breakage.

You should study your scroll saw, and be sure it is safe for making
thicker cuts with very small turns. There are many different brands of
saws that have large variations in price. They may have a number of fea-
tures that would be helpful, such as variable speed, counterbalanced
drive, quick blade change, dust blowers and support legs. The most
important features are, however, the ability to cut accurately in thicker
stock and the ability to be able to make very small turns. This will
require the use of thin, narrow blades. A universal No. 2 or smaller
scroll saw blade can be used for the small patterns. Most of the small
pattern projects in this book were done with a blade that was 0.015
inch thick by 0.037 inch wide with 14 teeth per inch. The large pat-
terns will need at least a No, 7 blade to accomplish the thicker cuts that
are needed.

If the blade is too small for the thickness being cut, it will bow back
with the cutting force. This becomes a significant problem when trying
to make a sharp turn! As the turn is made, the cutting is no longer ver-
tical. If the center piece being sawed loose from the rest of the block
will not slide out of the main block after a cut has been done, the blade
is too small, dull or it may be under-tensioned. Tension in the blade
must be in accordance with the manufacturers recommendation in
order for the blade to operate properly.
Power Tool Operation

BAND SAW OPERATION

The size of the band saw blade is
the key to this procedure for making
miniatures. New narrow !/16-inch
blades can be purchased from various
tool sources in custom lengths to
match existing band saws. A very
helpful accessory to go with the nar-
row blade is a special set of compos-
ite material guide blocks as shown in
Figure 1.2. (Note the blade guard
has been temporarily removed to
show the guide blocks and the blade
support bearing; always operate your power tool with all the safety fea-
tures in place.)

These blocks are made from a type of composite material that is
self-lubricating. They replace the usual metal blocks that had to be posi-
tioned so the teeth on the blade were in front of the slot between the
blocks. With the new narrow blades, there would be very little blade
material behind the teeth to slide between the guide blocks. As a result,
a very small forward movement of the blade would leave it with no side
to side stability. The blade support bearing behind the back of the blade
should be adjusted to keep the blade in the middle of the composite
guide block: shown in Figure 1.2. This bearing will react to the cut-
ting force during operation as it does with ordinary blades.

Blade movement may happen if you need to move backward in the
saw kerf and inadvertently pull the blade forward out of the guide
blocks. Sometimes it is necessary to move backward in the saw kerf if
you are making a very sharp turn, and you want to widen the saw kerf
to assist with the turn, The composite guide blocks can be set so the
blade is completely between them as shown in Figure 1.2. Since the
blocks are a soft material they will not harm the saw blade teeth or the
set in the teeth as would happen with metal blocks. As a result, the
blade will still be guided if it is subjected to a small forward movement.
The end of the guide blocks will wear with time from the set in the
blade teeth, but can easily be replaced or the ends resurfaced to again
give maximum blade stability.

It will be helpful if the saw table insert around the blade has a small
opening to give maximum support to the material being cut. It may be
necessary to obtain or make a special insert that has a reduced opening
around the blade, as shown in Figure 1.2, Another way to minimize the
saw table opening is to use a saw table cover made from a hard pressed-
board material or thin, smooth plywood. Make a saw cut from the back

3

Figure 1.2

“Composite” guide blocks in
position with a '/16 inch blade
on a band saw. The blade is
set in the middle of the guide
block ends so a small forward
movement of the blade will
oot pull it free of the blocks.
Note the saw blade guard has
been temporarily removed to
take the picture.
3—-D Scroll Saw Patterns and Techniques

Figure 1.3

‘Typical scroll saw cutting of
the smaller pattern for the
Horse. Note that the wood
block is much longer than the
patterns to assist in directing
the cutting and holding the
block down on the saw table,

edge of the table cover, forward to the blade posi-
tion to allow it to be put in place after the blade is
installed in the band saw. You can glue small strips
on the bottom edges to make lips that fit over the
edges of the table. The cover could also be held in
place with double-sided tape, clamps and stove
bolts.

It is also very important to have the band saw
blade and the saw table adjusted so the blade is per-
pendicular to the table. Improper adjustment will
result in irregular width and thickness of the small
parts on the craft items, such as legs, arms and
antlers, Small details, such as an antler, require a turn
at the end of the item. The second part of the cut-
ting will be done in the opposite direction but par-
allel to the first part of the cut. If the blade is not perpendicular to the
table, the small detail will not be of uniform thickness.

PREPARATION OF WOOD BLOCKS
Creation of the rectangular blocks used for the projects will also

Figure 1.4

Cutting the side view pattern for the large Horse. The wood block is much longer than the
patterns to assist in holding the block and directing the saw cuts without having the blade
near your fingers.